She falsely declared she was single, despite being married since 2004 and having two children with her husband.

Ali, a HM Revenue and Customs employee, provided 12 applications in total, one each year.

Joanne Kidd, prosecuting, said: “Mrs Ali was married on April 21, 2004 to her husband.

“They lived at various addresses and she gave birth to two children, in June 2005 and December 2009."

During this time, Ali claimed she was unmarried to receive single-parent tax breaks.

Ms Kidd continued: “She would have been entitled in the first year to £4,000. However, the fraud was conducted over a 12 year period of time, during which 12 false declarations of her status were made.”

Judge Sean Morris said: “Bearing in mind what she did as a job exacerbates the situation. If I can get the country’s money back, bearing in mind she’s got two children, I may suspend the sentence.”